What’s wrong with the NHL?

Dear Editor:

I wonder if anyone else is fed up with some of the strange things that go on in the National Hockey League. It was supposed to have been cleaned up after the lock out. In one recent game between Montreal and Toronto, 23 penalties were called and many others where overlooked.

I was working in Toronto back in the 1950s and watched many games at Maple Leaf Gardens. Sometimes only two or three penalties where called in a complete game, and sometimes none. I got acquainted with a retired player who played with the Leafs way back in the 1930s, by the name of “Bushee” Jackson. He was a member of the famous Kid Line of Primeau, Connacher and Jackson, they where the best of the best at that time. This was when Jackson was hailed as the best left-winger in the National Hockey League.

In 1932 he retired and opened a sports store. He often talked about the lads he played with, but never said many good things about the brass in the organization. One thing he never had any use for was fighting or “dirty hockey.” He believed in a fast, clean game, which fans liked back then.

I saw many games at the Gardens in the 1950s, and never had any trouble getting a good seat. One thing Bushee told me was that when he played in the 1930s, his salary was $35,000 a year, which was top for a player. Most of them retired after 10 or 12 years, in those days, 30 years of age was considered to be too old. Now Maple Leaf Gardens is gone, and the Sky Dome accommodates hockey, football, and baseball.

Oren Foster BEM

Deep Brook